Donald Hutera sees a visiting Canadian company and decides that he wants to run away with the circus.

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When was the last time a circus left you giddy with a sense of poetry, or brought a bittersweet tear to your eye? This is exactly what Cirque Eloize accomplishes. The French-Canadian troupe, making its London debut this week, offers something endearingly different from most other companies of its kind. They make the kind of sensitive circus I'd want to run away and join.

I’m going to see them on Monday and will report back - unless I join up as well.

A fine show just as Donald Hutera decribed. My favourites were Jamie Adkins, a hilarious mime and wonderful juggler and slack wire expert; Daniel Cyr a strong man who did amazing balances on a ladder; Claude Vendette, a great saxophonist who ended up playing 2 saxes simultaneously.<P>There was a great ending to this often beautiful show as the lights dimmed until there was just one reading light at the back of the stage. And then Vendette reached out and plunged the theatre into complete darkness. The full house (5.30pm, so lots of kids) loved it all. Well worth a trip if they come your way.

Well they're hear now! Yes, Cirque Eloize is in Sydney, Australia! Oh I wish I could afford a ticket;( But with Cirque du Soleil coming next month I'm forced to choose. <P>I hope some of you can get there though, the show's been getting great reveiws.<P><p>[This message has been edited by Jennifer (edited May 13, 2001).]

Cirque Eloize are coming to Sadler's Wells from 7 August to 2 September, 2001. They made a big impact on all who saw then last time. So those who want a change from the ballet delights of the Royal Opera House in August should definitely think about this magical show suitable for adults and kids.

<P>On a second viewing Cirque Eloize remains a sweet show with good tricks, much humour and a distincive atmosphere which appeals to children and adults alike. For the benefit of the former the Sadler's Wells evening shows start at 7pm and run without an interval to 8.30. <P>This is the same show 'Eccentricus', which played at the Barbian last year, but there have been some changes in the personnel and the 'difficult' character who is redeemed at the end is now played by a graceful, hyper-flexible young woman. However, the story elements didn't make quite such an impact on me this time.<P>What the heck! Jamie Adkins is a knock-out with his amazing skill on the slack wire and juggling combined with his physical acting flair. And strongman Daniel Cy does amazing things with a ladder - do not try this at home!<P>Nevertheless, this is a delightful and often gentle ensemble show, rather than a series of specialist acts. Most of the performers show that they have dance or mime as part of their background. <P>It runs till 2nd September and is great for kids and is certanly worth the time of adults, especially in the famine that comes after the SFB week in London.<P>Here's the link to the <A HREF="http://www.sadlers-wells.com/whats_on/spring2001/cirque.asp" TARGET=_blank><B>Sadler's Wells information</B></A> about the show.<P> <BR> <p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited August 11, 2001).]

You should see some of the things they get up to at the Barbican. Walking along the backs of the seats from row to row, standing upside down on the back of their necks, high-kicking in perfect time to the music, running fast with light abandon up a flight of stairs - and that's just the kids in the interval. This show really evokes enthusiasm.

On stage we can watch an amazing display of skills. There is the woman, an absolute delight, who opens the second half with a devastating number on a trapeze, sometimes swinging so high that she almost vanishes into the flies.

"At night the sky is endless," one of our two clowns tells us, by way of introduction. And so it is in Cirque Eloize's nocturnal dreamscape, a place of limitless possibility and playful new freedoms. That is what the title, nomad, points to: not a rootless vagabond existence, as such, but a cutting free of any ties to the here and now, the usual order of things. Blending acrobatics, dance, music, yogic contortions to put Madonna in the shade, slapstick comedy, clowning and juggling, this lively Québécois troupe knowingly play with the idea of a circus (after the interval, for example, a trapeze artist asks if we've had "time to pee-pee"), while also delivering its traditional pleasures with much aplomb.

Hot and bothered under the big top Charles Spencer for The Daily Telegraph reviews Cirque Éloize at the Barbican and the Roberts Brothers Circus at Weymouth.

These days, many circuses have become so arty that they would probably seem more at home in Tate Modern than the big top.

When the boss of the French Canadian troupe Cirque Éloize got together with Daniele Finzi Pasca, the director of its latest show, Nomade, they didn't discuss the acts, or new stunts, or budgets. No, the big question for discussion was apparently: "How do we conceive beauty?" And I always thought the circus was all spit and sawdust.

With its third show, Cirque Eloize has transcended circus. This is pure art and, quite simply, beautiful. It is hard to comprehend the explosive leap forward this French-Canadian company has made. Clearly, it has been touched by the genius of Daniele Finzi Pasca, who, with artistic director Jeannot Painchaud, has created a mesmerising theatrical experience.

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